One of my friends likes to remind me of the times I called her crying, begging to know when Inara would find her brain again. This happened a lot when she was about 6-9 months old. She always told me that when Inara turned 2, her brain would reappear and she'd settle down. I actually heard that a lot. Didn't happen.

After Inara turned 2 and her brain hadn't been located yet, people would tell me, "oh no! THREE is the magic age! Once she turns three she'll be fully mature and you'll be golden." Didn't happen.

People really didn't say a whole lot about 4. I think they were afraid to lie to me again.

Well, I have decided that for Inara, FIVE is the magic age. She turned five on October 22. Since then, she has seen my mother and stepfather (she adores both of them) and not jumped on them. She has been loved on by children without jumping on them. She has been taken care of by the dogwalker (who she jumped on before!) without jumping on her. Nothing has changed in her life except another birthday, but this, THIS was the magic birthday. She has interacted with a bunch of people and jumped twice. Two times. Out of dozens of interactions.

So for those of you who have lost hope of your dog's brain ever being located, have hope that perhaps at age five it will have a spontaneous recovery!

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

Petey never located his brain. He was puppy stupid and hyper until the cancer knocked it out of him. We thought he was finally mellowing out at almost 10 years old.

Birdie grew a brain around 2.5 - 3 years old.

People think I'm nuts when I tell them I am getting a puppy next year to start training as a service dog. Why so soon, Birdie isn't that old, they ask. I tell them it takes at LEAST 2.5, sometimes 3 years or more for this breed to grow a brain.

Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men ~ General George S. Patton, Jr.

She taking all the stars down from her sky to hang them up someplace new, where there's better weather and the sky's a different blue. ~ Autumn Fields

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

Everyone kept telling us that once Patch got fixed then he'd calm down - this was at 7 months. It never happened. Then when we had all the snow last year and this, he calmed down a little.

He turned three on Thusday and his still comes and goes. It's like... He starts behaving and doing what he's supposed to then he's got a change of heart or something... and starts to be bad all the time. (I know his main problem is because he doesn't get any human interaction besides with Mike or myself.)

Yay- for Inara...sounds like she has really come a long way behavior wise!!! I am waiting for Ino to hit his age (he's 2 1/2). He is pretty mellow indoors (aside from short bursts of kitty chasing energy or cuz play), and training is much easier inside- but outside on our walks....forget it!! He loses focus very easy if he has any at all when we start out. He knows he is not supposed to pull- but figures if he doesn't look at me, all is well. At most, I will make him sit/stay until I am even with him (he sits a lot on walks due to pulling so he can re-gain his brain). Forget it if we see a cat, lizard, bird or squirrel (which many people here enjoy feeding). Kitties he just wants to go play with- but the rest...nope!!

Jack grew a brain at 5 as well. It's been magical ever since. No more puppy shenanigans, it's like he turned automatically into a loving couch potato that actually sits still enough to enjoy being petted, plus he can sit on the same sidewalk as someone walking by with 2 calm dogs on leash. Love it.

Turning 9 in mid-february though, that's a really scary. He'll be a senior citizen! But I told him he's not allowed to die, he better listen.

When we rescued her at age 8, I thought: "ah, she's an old girl, no point in worrying too much about her annoying behaviors". What a nitwit I was. 7 years later, we're still saying at 4 in the morning when she's demanding attention: "ah, she's an old girl, no point in worrying about her annoying behaviors..."